The Good and The Bad
by Jesika Starwatcher
Summary: Peppy's life changes after he finds an orphaned kit with a very peculiar birthmark. *Added "Changes" as a chapter*
1. The Good and The Bad

Okay, here it goes. Starfox, Starwolf, Andross, James, Peppy, Pigma, Rob,   
General Pepper, Vixy, and all other characters, things, and places are copyright   
to Nintendo. Lyrics are copyrighted to Chumbawamba. Used without permission.   
Jesika Starwatcher and Justin Starwatcher are copyrighted to me. If you want to use them,   
ask first. They can't be used for any x-rated stories, so forget it. On with the show.  
  
  
  
*****************  
  
  
  
The Good And The Bad  
  
  
"General Pepper, sir?" A young fox saluted as he entered the office.  
  
"Ah, yes. James McCloud. Please sit down. I'm afraid I have some bad news   
for you. It  
concerns the army base on Fortuna," the hound said solemnly.  
  
James felt his throat go dry. Many of his former friends from the academy   
were stationed there. "What happened?" he asked carefully.  
  
"Well, you know that Andross attacked Corneria a few days ago?" Pepper   
asked. James shuddered but nodded.  
  
"Andross apparently used Fortuna as a test area. We don't know how bad it   
is. All we have to go by is there hasn't been any contact with them for several   
days."  
  
"So what does this have to do with me?" James finally asked.  
  
"Could you check it out, James? We need a small team like yours to search   
for survivors. This needs to be as low profile as possible," he explained.  
  
"Yes sir. I'll go get Peppy and Pigma and we'll leave first thing in the   
morning," the mercenary choked out, walking out of the office.  
  
******************************  
  
A day later on Fortuna, three arwings raced across the horizon.  
  
"James, I'm cold," Pigma wailed. It was cold, too. Even with the heater   
turned up to eighty degrees. James had had enough of Pigma's whining though,   
so he simply ignored him.  
  
Finally, they got to the base. The only thing left was a few pieces of   
rubble. Even what the rubble used to be was hard to decipher. All three pilots were  
sickened, especially James.   
  
"How could someone do this?" he whispered, eyes wide, "How could someone be   
so cruel? There were innocent women and children here!" his voice grew into a growl,   
unaware his com-link was on.  
  
Both his teammates heard him. Pigma began to feel sick as he looked at the   
charred scene, and he suddenly regretted having those six burgers at Mom's Galaxy   
Cafe. Not much upset the pig's stomach, but this surely did.  
  
Peppy was deep in thought. He shared both his comrades' feelings, but they   
ran deeper for the hare. He had once been stationed here as a cadet, and he had   
befriended the eldest captain, Justin Starwatcher. Unfortunately, it appeared his   
old friend couldn't have lived through such an attack. With any luck, he was gone   
when it occurred , but...  
  
"Well, we better get down there and search for survivors," James sighed,   
cutting through Peppy's thoughts. Pigma wasn't quite as 'enthusiastic'.  
  
"Come on James," he squealed, "let's just leave. There may still be   
Venomians looking for slaves."  
  
"All the more reason to rescue any survivors," the leader shot back. Pigma   
shut up immediately.  
  
They landed their ships and started rummaging through the rubble and snow.   
It was depressing work. They found only one or two badly mangled bodies. The rest   
must have been taken captive or completely destroyed. The whole mission started to   
get to them when they found what appeared to be a young child's tricycle that was burnt   
almost beyond recognition.   
  
Just when they were about to give up, Peppy heard some crying.  
It came from under what appeared to be the hull of a ship. James had heard   
it too. Both the mercenaries worked to pull the hull off while Pigma sat back shivering  
and griping.   
  
Finally, it came off. Under it, partially covered in snow, was a tiny artic   
fox kit. Her fur was dirty and she was so tiny they were sure she was a newborn. Sure   
enough, the hospital bracelet was still on her wrist. It read: "Starwatcher, Jesika".  
  
Peppy sat down with a moan. He had known his friend's wife had been   
expecting, but he didn't know the child had been born yet. Worse yet, he knew Justin  
would never leave the base without his daughter. All hope of him being gone when the   
attack happened had been lost.  
  
"Any survivors?" a cold voice split through the silence.  
  
"Nope," another answered, "Other than the handful of slaves the shock troops   
found, they must have all been killed in the attack."  
  
"Oh well," the first one said nonchalantly, "Sacrifices must be made for the   
greater good."  
  
The three pilots crouched behind a rock, with Peppy holding Jesika. They   
peered over cautiously, and recognized them both instantly.   
  
The first one was none other than the evil Dr. Andross himself. He had a   
long red robe around him that rippled in the wind. His eyes matched his soul. They   
were cold, red, evil eyes that showed no remorse for any wrongdoing.  
  
Next to him was Commander O'Donnel of the Venomian Army. He was a cruel   
space pirate who showed no mercy in battle. His son, Wolf, was around sixteen years   
old and seemed determined to follow his father's footsteps example. It was sad, really.   
Such a promising young pilot throwing his future away like that.  
  
Peppy drew his gun, yearning for revenge for Justin's death. The hare was   
usually the vengeful type, but destroying a base where innocent women and children were   
deserved vengeance. He would have pulled the trigger if James hadn't stopped him.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?!" he hissed. "If you shoot at them, we'll   
get captured."  
  
Peppy put the gun back in it's holster. He glanced at Jesika. She was   
shivering. He took off his coat wrapped it around her, and immediately cringed as the   
ice cold wind blew across his body. The kit stopped shivering. She nuzzled against his chest   
and cooed. Incredibly weak and malnourished, she still fell asleep with a smile on her lips.   
It was painfully clear that she needed medical attention.   
  
"I guess we should get her to the hospital," the hare whispered. His   
teammates nodded and started sneaking back to their arwings.  
  
"Sir, did you hear that?" O'Donnel yelled when they were about halfway to   
their ships. Then, the sound of approaching footsteps came.  
  
The three mercenaries broke into an all out run. They heard gunshots and   
yelling, but that only made them speed up. James's ship was the closest, so Peppy handed   
Jesika to him and told them to take off.  
  
He turned around, fired a few shots, none hitting their targets. After James   
was about fifty feet in the air, he hopped into his own ship and took off. Pigma was already   
half way to Great Fox.  
  
When all three pilots, with a young child in tow, made it back, the crew was   
exhausted. Pigma promptly fell asleep on the couch, while his friends took Jesika to sick   
bay.  
  
After waiting a few hours,one of the med-bots brought her back out. She was   
sleeping quietly in a crib. She had been bathed, so now they could clearly see her fur.  
  
The young fox had all the usual markings of her species. Most of her fur was   
frosty white, save for her ears, paws, and the tip of her tail was black. She had a   
small hole in her left ear, a wound from the blast that-even though it wasn't very   
noticeable- she'd probably have the rest of her life. One thing caught their attention  
more than anything.   
On her forehead was a small solid black star.  
  
"What's this?" Peppy wondered aloud. "It looks like a birth mark, but   
neither of her parents had one."  
  
James shrugged, too exhausted to answer. He gave the robot some of Fox's old baby clothes,   
and told it to dress her and put her to bed. He then 'practiced what he   
preached', went to his own quarters, and passed out into la-la land.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
The next few days went by quickly. Jesika had quite an appetite for someone   
so tiny. In two days, she had gained five pounds. It appeared the little fox would recover   
nicely.  
  
Finally, they made it back to Corneria. Just after they landed the ship, none   
other than a three-year-old Fox McCloud came toddling up to see his dad.   
  
"Daddy!" the toddler giggled. James picked him up with a smile and put him on   
his shoulders. Vixy came walking after Fox.  
  
"How'd it go, honey?" she asked softly, kissing him on the cheek.  
  
He sighed, "We only found one survivor. Justin's daughter."  
  
"Justin's daughter?" she questioned, "I didn't know he had a daughter."  
  
"It looks like she had just been born," he whispered, putting his son down.   
Vixy gasped.  
  
"Is she all right?"  
  
"They're doing one more checkup, but it looks like she'll make it."  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
"We're back, sir," James said as he, Peppy, and Pigma entered the office.   
General Pepper jumped to his feet.  
  
"How'd it go? Were there any survivors? How's the base?" he fired questions   
at them. James was the first to answer.  
  
"Sir, the base was completely destroyed," he said somberly. "There was one   
survivor."  
  
"Who?" the general asked sadly.  
  
"A baby, sir. Her name is Jesika. We think she must be Justin's daughter,"   
Pigma cut in.  
  
"Oh dear," said Pepper as he looked through some computer files, "It   
appears the poor thing doesn't have any family left. She'll have to be put in   
an orphanage."  
  
"Why can't I take care of her?" Peppy blurted out suddenly, earning a few   
surprised looks.  
  
"Well, I'm not really the one in charge of these sort of matters, Hare,"   
Pepper grumbled. "And besides, you're a mercenary. Who will take care of her while   
you're off fighting?"  
  
"She could stay with my wife, Clare," Peppy answered, his voice leaving no   
room for   
argument. The general stared at him for what seemed like forever before he answered.  
  
"Alright," he sighed. "You can have custody of her." The small team nodded   
and left the office.  
  
  
James turned to Peppy. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked,   
concerned.  
  
The hare nodded, "Clare and I... we can't have kids anyway. Besides, I   
can't let thatpoor girl get sent to one orphanage after another," he closed his eyes.   
"I grew up in a loving home and she deserves to grow up in one too."  
  
James looked at him and nodded, deciding the matter was pretty much   
settled.  
  
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
A year and a half later...  
  
  
"Hello Mrs. Hare. Is Peppy here?" James greeted as he walked into the house.   
Fox ran in after him, playing with a model plane he had gotten for his birthday a few   
weeks ago. Clare,  
who was trying to keep Jesika from getting out of her crib walked up to James.  
  
"Hello James. Peppy's at the general's office right now. What's going on?"   
She looked down at Fox. "Well, hello little guy. What's that you've got in your hand?"  
  
"An arwing." he said smiling. He walked up to Jesika.  
  
"Is dis Jesika?" he asked his father.  
  
"Yes Fox. You've seen her before, remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah. How come she's living with Peppy when she's a fox and he's a   
rabbit?" Fox asked. James sighed.  
  
"Peppy takes care of her since her parents are gone."  
  
"Oh. Where'd her parents go?"  
  
"It's a long story, Fox. One I'm not particularly in the mood to tell right   
now."  
  
Peppy finally came in. He greeted James and they sat down on the couch,   
eating a bag of potato chips and chatting.  
  
"Well, what did Pepper have to say?" the elder fox asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing. He was just talking to me about our mission yesterday..." The   
adults went on chatting and trying to brag about who shot down the most fighters.   
Meanwhile, Jesika was still trying to get out of her crib. Finally, she managed to  
reach over the side and grab Fox's tail. She fell out, landed on him, and started to cry.  
  
"Oh Jesika!" Clare ran over and picked her up, trying to comfort her. Peppy and James ran   
over too.  
  
"Are they all right?" Peppy asked worriedly.   
  
Fox walked over to his father whimpering and holding his head. Jesika stopped   
crying and looked down at him. She squirmed around like she wanted down. Clare set her   
down gently and Jesika crawled over to Fox. She pointed her tail at him and looked up sadly.  
  
"'Orry," she whimpered.  
  
He grabbed it and pulled it lightly. She smiled and crawled closer.  
  
"It looks like she tried to make up for falling on him," James said,   
surprised at the display.  
  
Fox sat down so that he and Jesika were at eye level with each other. He   
picked up the model arwing he had.   
  
"This is an arwing," he talked with an air of importance about it. "This is   
what my daddy and Peppy fly. I'm gonna fly one too when I get big enough." He smiled at her,   
feeling as if he just taught the younger kit something great.   
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Eight years have passed. Fox and Jesika are both enrolled at the academy.   
This day was just like any other.  
  
"Those two are something else, James," Pepper whispered admirably, watching   
them fight on the flight simulator. "Fox has broken all the records for speed and flying.   
And young Jesika is moving faster than a lot of the others in her age group. I'm thinking   
about moving her up a few grades. We need more soldiers to combat Andross anyways."  
  
James smiled, something he rarely did these days. His wife, Vixy, just died in a   
terrible car accident. He glanced at Fox. The boy had taken it pretty hard. He hadn't let   
it slow him down, though. In fact, Fox was more determined than ever. But something seemed   
to be bothering Jesika since the accident. Almost as if she blamed herself.  
  
"Ah man!" her voice broke though his thoughts.  
  
"That's two out of three," Fox said happily. James and Pepper smiled as   
the two cadets gave each other fives.  
  
The general cleared his throat, "I was just telling James how spectacular   
your performance has been."  
  
"Sir! We didn't hear you come in," Jesika said, saluting. Fox followed   
suit.  
  
"It's past lights out, you two," Pepper hinted, looking at his watch.  
  
"Goodbye father," Fox sighed as he started toward his quarters.  
  
"Bye James," Jesika said hurriedly, not making eye contact. She walked   
quickly to her room.  
  
  
**********   
  
Three arwings dodged through the enemy fighters. They were on Venom, and weren't   
having much trouble. A 12-year-old Jesika watched with childlike curiosity. She didn't   
know how she got to Venom, she was just.... there. Some things you just don't question.  
  
One of the arwings suddenly swooped down behind her. Jesika watched it   
land, but couldn't tell who the pilot was. So, she glanced back up at the sky and gasped.  
The remaining two were badly damaged now. Worse still, more and more enemy fighters piled   
on top of them.  
  
'GET OUT OF HERE!' a voice rang through her head.  
  
'BUT...'  
  
'NO BUTS. LEAVE NOW!!!!'   
  
One of the arwings turned around slowly and flew out of sight. Only a few   
seconds later, remaining ship spiraled to the surface and burst into flames less than a   
hundred yards away from the shocked vixen.  
  
She stood there, frozen as the waves of heat pounded her. Finally, the shock   
waves stopped and there was nothing but the crackling of the smoking arwing.  
  
'No one could have survived that,' she thought in despair. 'Peppy...   
James... Pigma... who was it? I have to find out.'  
  
Finally, Jesika gathered up all her courage and started walking slowly   
toward the rubble. Just when she was about there, however, someone grabbed her from  
behind and clamped a hand over her mouth.  
  
"I don't think so, squirt," a familiar voice hissed.  
  
  
  
Jesika woke up in a cold sweat, almost screaming, but not quite. She sat bolt   
upright in bed and looked around. It slowly dawned on her she was in her room on Great   
Fox, in her own bed. Jesika laid there a little while, trying to shake off the terrible   
dream and get back to sleep.  
  
After about fifteen minutes of lying there wide awake, she cursed under her breath and   
got out of bed. After getting dressed in her blue jumpsuit, she walked into the  
hall to get something to eat.  
  
Suddenly, a noise in the communications room startled her. She walked up   
slowly to it and peered in. Pigma was turning off the com unit he had been using. He spun   
around and saw her.  
  
"What are you doing up so early?" He tried to say it nicely and failed   
miserably.   
  
"What are YOU doing up? I don't remember you ever getting up before eleven,"   
she growled back and turned away. He snorted indignantly.  
  
"Stupid little smart-aleck," he mumbled under his breath.  
  
Jesika ignored him and left. After walking about ten feet into the next   
room, she started feeling very sick. Her head throbbed and her whole body started   
to ache.  
  
'What is wrong with me?' she asked herself silently.   
  
There was a couch near the opposite wall. She stumbled over to it and lay   
down. The vixen soon lost consciousness.   
  
  
  
The next morning Peppy walked up to morning breakfast. He sat down while   
Pigma tried his best to cook the pancakes without burning them. After about three tries,   
he put them on the table and started eating. Fox walked in a few minutes later and sat   
down next to his father.  
  
"Where's Jesika?" he asked. "I knocked on her door to wake her up and she   
didn't open the door. I thought she was already at breakfast."  
  
"I thought she was still asleep," Peppy said, a bit startled. "I'll go see if   
I can find her. She'll be mad if she misses out on pancakes."  
  
The hare got up and started searching the ship. He started in the   
communications room, thinking she might be trying to call one of her friends. When he   
didn't find her there, he looked in the training room, the gym, and the den area. Finally   
he looked in the rec room, where she was still fast asleep on the couch. Peppy knelt down   
beside her.  
  
"Jesika, time to get up," he said softly, trying to wake her. She stirred   
and slowly woke up, her vision blurry.   
  
"Dad, is that you?" she asked tiredly, blinking. He frowned and rubbed her   
forehead. She was burning up.  
  
"Yes, it's me. Who'd you think?" he answered quietly. "You're pretty warm.   
Why don't you stay in bed for today. Fox'll watch you until we get back."  
  
"Get back? From where?"  
  
"We're going to Venom today, remember?" he smoothed her black streaked white   
hair back and got up to leave.  
  
"Venom?!" she asked, eyes wide.  
  
"Is there something wrong with Venom? We've been there before and didn't have any   
trouble."  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"Well then, don't worry about it. We'll be back by lunch time."  
  
'If I tell him about the dream, he'll think I'm crazy,' she watched him as he   
walked out the door. 'It's just a dream, after all. It doesn't mean anything. Does  
it?' With that thought, she drifted back to sleep. The first dreamless sleep she'd had   
in weeks.   
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
A few hours later, Jesika woke up, at first remembering nothing of the dream.   
She got up and stretched, feeling great. In fact, she hadn't felt so energized in quite a   
while. After getting a soda out of the refrigerator, she walked down to the swimming pool.  
  
Fox was there, sitting on the diving board dangling his feet in the water. It   
looked as if he were meditating, something both the foxes had learned from Peppy. Jesika  
could never sit still enough to do it.  
  
'This is perfect!' she thought evilly. 'I'll show him for beating me in the   
simulators.'  
  
Making as little noise as possible, she inched closer to Fox. Her weight was   
off balanced by his since she was so light. Once she got close enough, she shoved him  
as hard as she could, sending Fox flying into the water with a yelp.  
  
Jesika sat there for what seemed like an eternity laughing her head off. After   
a few minutes, she looked out into the water, trying to imagine the face of her friend   
when he got out. He was no where to be seen.  
  
"Fox?" she called nervously. There was no answer. She crawled to the very end   
of the diving board and peered over. She bit her lip. It was a big pool. What if he had hit   
his head and was still underwater? You couldn't see through all of the water at the same   
time so she stood up.  
  
Suddenly, something grabbed her ankle and pulled down hard. She let out a   
scream and fell into the water. Once she managed to come sputtering to the surface, she came   
face to face with a smirking Fox McCloud.  
  
"Why you..." she started to yell at him. He laughed and dove under the water.   
She followed suit and tried to catch him without much luck. After a while she came back to   
the surface and climbed out.  
  
"He must've gotten out," she muttered. "It doesn't matter. I'll pay him back   
later."  
  
  
  
A few hours later...  
  
"I beat you again!" Fox bragged. Jesika glared at him.  
  
"Congrats Junior. At least you can beat me in something," she said coolly. He   
smirked.  
  
"Something?! You haven't beaten me in a single thing your whole life," he   
laughed and messed up her hair to make her mad.  
  
"Oh yeah? What about on the survival course?"  
  
"Oh, right. So you beat me in one thing," he mumbled. "And don't call me   
Junior."  
  
"Sure thing, Junior," she answered back and turned off the video game they   
had been playing. He sighed and got up to get some pizza off of the rec room table.  
  
"What ever happened to you being sick?" he groaned.  
  
"I dunno. I feel fine now. Must be one of those couple-of-hours bug," she   
answered, grabbing a piece of hamburger pizza.  
  
"There's no such thing."  
  
"There should be. They have twenty-four hour bugs, so why not?"  
  
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Jesika asked the question   
that had been on the edge of her mind since she got up.  
  
"What's up with Pigma?"  
  
"What do you mean? He seemed fine to me this morning. Kind of excited about   
the mission. But nothing that out of the ordinary," he said, a bit startled.  
  
"Since when is he excited about going to Venom?" she asked nervously. Fox   
looked at her strangely.  
  
"The general's paying them a lot of money for this, Jes," he said quietly. "You know   
Pigma's a bit greedy. That's why he's so excited."   
  
"I guess you're right." She sighed and decided to change the subject. "How   
are you and that girl Fara getting along? Is she still your girlfriend?"  
  
Fox smiled. "Maybe... I'm not..." Before he could finish his sentence, an   
alarm sounded throughout the ship. They looked at each other for a moment in surprise and   
then dashed off to see what was wrong.  
  
Within moments, they were in the control room. Fox turned to Rob.  
  
"What's happening?!"  
  
"Twenty enemy fighters approaching from the right," the robot droned.  
  
"Well, shoot them down!" Jesika yelled over the alarm.  
  
"Negative. One arwing is approaching the ship also."  
  
Fox and Jesika stood there, frozen in place.  
  
"Just one?" Fox choked out.  
  
"Affirmative. The ship has been identified as Pigma's," Rob said, his metallic voice   
devoid of any emotion. Fox looked at Jesika a moment and then turned towards the docking   
bay.  
  
"You stay here," he said firmly. "Open the doors. Shoot down any Venomians who try   
to board."  
  
"No way! I wanna go see what the he..."  
  
"Forget it, Jesika! You need to stay here and try and contact Pigma," With   
that, he ran out of the room.  
  
'Besides,' he thought grimly, 'if one of those jerks got a hold of her and   
hurt her, I'd never forgive myself.'   
  
In a few minutes, he burst into the docking bay. The arwing had already   
landed and the pilot was about to get out. Slowly, the cockpit opened and out climbed...  
  
"Peppy?!" Fox blurted out. "What are you doing in Pigma's..."  
  
"Dad!" a young voice interrupted him. He turned around to see Jesika jump off   
the stairs and run up to the hare. Her smile soon disappeared when she got a good look  
at his face.  
  
He had a pretty deep cut just above his left eye and his fur was dirty. It   
looked like he had been crying. Peppy didn't cry very easily, so something must be   
seriously wrong.  
  
"What happened?" Fox asked frantically. "Where's my dad?"  
  
Peppy looked at him sadly for a moment and turned to Jesika. "I need to talk   
to Fox in private," he said softly, his voice ragged. She nodded and turned around.  
  
"See ya," she whispered to Fox, her tail and ears drooping slightly. She   
walked slowly out of the docking bay and went into her room. Sitting down in her red   
beanbag chair, she whimpered and looked up at the ceiling.  
  
'I knew it!' she thought angrily. 'I knew this was going to happen! How could   
I make the same mistake twice?!' A tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered how Fox's   
mother had died years before. Jesika had had a feeling that something was going to happen.   
Something horrible. But since she was a little kid, she hadn't said anything, thinking   
they'd figure she was just watching too many horror movies.  
  
'If I had said something, Fox's mom and dad would still be here.'  
  
The young vixen got up and walked slowly to her bed stand. On it was a small-framed   
picture of her parents. They were newlyweds, just coming back from their honeymoon.   
Justin had his arm around his wife, Tina's, shoulders. They were smiling at the camera.   
  
Jesika looked a lot like her mother when she was younger. Her fur and   
markings were almost identical right down to her dark brown eyes. Except for that star.   
Jesika looked in the mirror at it. Some of the ruder kids at the academy teased her about  
it, but some of them thought it was kind of neat looking. Jesika didn't particularly like   
it. She didn't like the way her teachers whispered to each other about it. To her it was   
what was causing her to have these terrible nightmares.  
  
She then looked at her father. He was a handsome fox. His hair was almost jet   
black, which looked kind of odd next to his frosty white fur. She had been told that she   
acted a lot like him. Justin had been reckless and stubborn, just like her.  
  
  
Jesika heard yelling down the hall. Fox. She didn't have to hear what he was   
saying. She already had a pretty good idea what had happened. Something had happened to   
James, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know exactly what. Whatever it was, Jesika doubted   
they'd ever see him again.  
  
  
  
Peppy looked down at the ground blankly. He had just told Fox the news about   
what had happened to his father. About Pigma's betrayal and their capture. About how  
the guards had told him that his friend was dead. The boy had denied that it furiously and   
ran out of the room.   
  
'I better call Pepper,' he thought glumly. 'He needs to know about this.'  
  
"Dad?" Jesika said sadly. He turned around slowly and looked at her. She ran   
up to him.  
  
"Something happened to James and Pigma, didn't it?" she asked quietly. He looked at her   
and shook his head.  
  
"No," he growled, "Pigma's fine! That greedy low-life sold us out to Andross.   
James and I were shot down and captured." He paused and wiped a tear from his eye.   
  
Tears were running down Jesika's cheeks also as Peppy told his story. She was   
sure now that the dream was real.  
  
For the person who had kept her from helping the downed pilot had been Pigma.   
  
"When I woke up, I was in a cell. The guards were talking about what Andross   
had done to James."  
  
"What did they do?" Jesika asked, a bit apprehensively. He ignored her   
question, wanting to spare her from the horrible descriptions he had heard.   
  
"You better go and see where Fox is," he whispered, changing the subject. "I   
need to talk to the General." She looked at him sadly for a bit, not really satisfied   
with his answer. But some things she was better off not knowing.   
  
Jesika walked out of the room and down the hallways. She worried about Fox.   
He wasn't in his room like she suspected. Instead, she heard what sounded like someone   
hitting something inside the rec room door. Se opened it and walked in.  
  
Fox was beating the stuffing out of a punching bag. The white bandanna tied   
around his head was already soaked with sweat and tears. The fox was moving with more power   
than Jesika had thought he had in him. He didn't acknowledge her presence.  
  
"You know, Fox, you're going to break that chain," she said blankly, not   
really knowing anything that would help her friend. She walked behind the bag and held onto   
it to keep it from swinging so much.   
  
Fox eased up a bit and looked closely at her face. At first, he thought she   
hadn't heard what happened. But after he got a good look at her red eyes and tear streaked   
cheeks, it ignited more of his anger, and he started crying again and hitting the bag much   
harder.  
  
"Just wait till I get my hands on Andross!" he growled. Jesika wasn't   
listening. She just held on to the bag and stared at the ground dumbly.  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Six months later...  
  
  
  
"Now, the next step is to cross the red wire with the green, and then you   
turn the knob counter-clockwise 168 degrees..." Mr. Patterson went on and on. He glanced  
up over the class and immediately spotted a young avian sleeping with his head down on his   
group's table.  
  
"Now then, Mr. Lombardi," Patterson asked in a commanding voice. "Could you   
tell me how you are to disable a standard issue Venomian bomb?"  
  
"Hmmm.... uh you're supposed to cut the green wire?" Falco stuttered   
shakily, trying to shake off his drowsiness. The elderly badger looked disapprovingly at   
his   
pupil.  
  
"That would do quite well, if you want it to blow up in your face! Now do   
you see why I can't pass you. If you'd get into a situation like this and did just that,  
it'd kill you and probably more. And if you don't get your grade up this time, you're going   
to be held behind..." Patterson went on with his rambling, not even looking up as a young   
coyote walked into the classroom.   
  
The boy was only dressed in a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off and some   
jeans. Around his neck he wore some dog tags. It was an odd sight indeed for someone to come   
inside the Academy unannounced and without a uniform on, but everyone was too interested   
in what their teacher was telling Falco to give him any mind. He sat down at the nearest   
table and looked around nervously, not wanting to get kicked out of another class. The boy   
listened in on the conversation two of the girls at his table were having.  
  
"Fara," the first one, a pink cat, kicked the fenec fox, "you see that cute   
hunk of bird over there?" Fara looked up at her.  
  
"The one getting yelled at by the professor?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Do you think he'd be the least bit interested in little old   
me?" the first one answered back.  
  
"Katt, you could do sooo much better," she said, smirking. "Heck, if you   
want I could get you hooked up with some hunk. Of course, he wouldn't compare to mine."  
  
Katt smirked, thinking about Fara's boyfriend, Fox. She glanced up at   
Jesika, who was sitting next to them.  
  
"Hey Jesika," she hissed. Jesika looked up from her notes.  
  
"What?"  
  
"How's Fox doing?"  
  
"I dunno. Fine I guess," she mumbled. The vixen felt her cheeks turn beet   
red when she saw the coyote that was sitting across her. She looked back down at her  
paper, blushing. Katt saw the look on her face and smiled. She leaned over closer to the  
younger cadet.  
  
"Think the new kid's cute, huh?" she whispered devilishly. The fox looked up   
at her for a second and then down again, blushing even more. It was a good thing it's hard   
to see her skin through her thick fur.  
  
"No," she mumbled back. Katt, however, wasn't that easily fooled.  
  
"Come on, talk to him. You'll never get a date if you never say a word."  
  
"I told you, I'm not interested in getting a date!"   
  
The coyote was trying to make out what they were saying, but without much   
luck and it was making him uncomfortable. He decided to try talking to them himself.  
  
"Umm... hi," he said, a bit of a quiver in his voice, "My name is Tobias.   
Tobias Reynard."  
  
Katt kicked Jesika from under the table again. Jesika looked back at her   
sourly, but complied .  
  
"Pleased to meet you, Tobias. My name is Jesika Starwatcher. Are you new   
here?"  
  
"I guess you could say that. I don't have enough money for tuition,   
actually. Maybe if my old man would get off his lazy a..." Tobias stopped short and shook  
his head. "Forget it. I shouldn't be bothering you with my problems."  
  
"No, no. It's alright."  
  
"Class dismissed," Patterson announced a bit suddenly. The students quickly   
got out of their seats and started gathering up their books so they could go home for the   
day.  
  
One of the older cadets slid his chair back roughly, knocking it into   
Jesika.  
  
"Watch it, Terrance!" she growled at the wolf. He laughed and brushed some   
of his black hair out of his deep green eyes.  
  
"Sorry," he said coolly. "You shouldn't have been in my way, toots." She   
shoved him back and started gathering up her books.  
  
"What a loser," she mumbled quietly. Katt and Fara looked nervously over at   
Terrance and nodded their agreement.   
  
"I'm the loser? At least my parents didn't abandon me," he smirked, his eyes   
narrowed.  
  
"My parents were killed by Andross. You don't know what the hell you're   
talking about," she retorted. The gray wolf stood up and looked at her seriously.  
  
"Oh yeah. And how can you be sure? How come they never found their bodies?   
Or even their dog tags?"  
  
"Because they must have been destroyed in the blast," she growled, less   
certainty in her voice than before.  
  
"I can give you a better answer than that. The right answer," an evil grin   
spread across his muzzle. "Your parents didn't want you. And who can blame them? You're a   
freak of nature." He pointed at the star mark on her forehead.   
  
"Shut the hell up," she said coldly, ears back. He put his hand on her   
shoulder and pulled her closer.  
  
"You know what? Your dad also asked my father for some leave time for him   
and his wife. Right before you were born," Terrance's eyes sparkled. "He said he needed the   
address to the nearest abortion clinic. He didn't want you. The only thing that stopped   
him was the fact that you were born the night before it was supposed to happen. Too bad."  
  
Jesika looked at him, eyes wide. She didn't want to believe him. But there   
was no evidence to disprove it. The doctors that delivered her were dead. General   
Darkspirit, Terrance's dad, had been her parents commanding officer. He had been gone when   
the attack had happened, away at Corneria for a meeting. And they had never found her   
parents.  
  
Her anger and denial got the best of her. She shoved him back as hard as she   
could and he hit the side of the table behind him. He got up quickly and dove at her.   
Tobias stepped in and blocked him before he reached her.  
  
"Let me go, punk! This ain't your fight," Terrance growled, teeth bared.   
Tobias pushed him back a bit and turned to Jesika.  
  
"You have an awful short temper," he hissed. She shrugged and glared at   
Terrance. The wolf dusted off his uniform and started to walk off when Mr. Patterson   
stopped him.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" the badger roared. "No one roughhouses in my classroom   
without punishment. You just got yourself a trip to Pepper's office." Jesika started to   
laugh at the boy's misfortune when the professor turned towards her.  
  
"As for you, you have two days detention."  
  
"But..."  
  
"No buts. You know better than that."  
  
"That's not fair! He started it!"  
  
"Well you shouldn't have shoved him. Now stay here. I need to call your guardian so   
he'll know that you'll be staying after."  
  
The badger walked out of the room with Terrance following after him, trying   
to talk his way out of the punishment. Jesika watched them with anger burning in her eyes   
and propped her head up with one paw.  
  
"I hate Engineering class," she seethed.  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
One year and a half later...  
  
  
  
Peppy looked around the banquet hall. It was graduation time, and blue and   
white banners adorned the walls. There were many other parents, relatives, and friends   
of the graduates were sitting around, talking and laughing while eating the buffet that   
had been prepared. It reminded him of his own graduation. James, Pigma, and he were young   
then, but even at that time they were still friends. Hard to believe how it all turned   
out...  
  
He looked over at Fox and Jesika. They seemed to be arguing about something.   
The hare got up and moved closer to find out what all the fuss was about.  
  
"I beat you again," Fox said playfully. Jesika glared up at him with   
challenging brown eyes.  
  
"Not by very much," she replied snottily, her morterboard tipped down with   
her finger as if it were a cowboy hat. "I was Co-Salutatorian, you know."  
  
"I beat you and Bill by fifty points. Fifty!"  
  
"So!"  
  
"Have you told Peppy about the simulator you broke? The one that Slippy   
offered to fix and you said no? And ended up breaking it worse?" Fox snickered, almost   
threatening. Jesika looked at Peppy and frowned, knowing almost immediately that he heared   
by the look on his face.  
  
"Shut up!" she hissed back and kicked him under the table.  
  
Peppy smiled softly and elbowed Pepper- who was sitting next to him- in the   
ribs.  
  
"Some things'll never change, I guess," the hare chuckled.  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Well, that ends my first ever fanfic. Aren't you guys proud of me?  
  
*silence with a little bit of booing*  
  
*shrugs* Hey, if you have something other than that to say about it, please   
e-mail me at jesika_starwatcher@rockforlife.zzn.com . Praise, flames, death threats are   
accepted.  
  
Oh yeah, and a special thanks to my beta reader, Alex Foster. I don't think I would've   
had the courage to post this if it weren't for him.   
  



	2. The Good and the Bad: Epilogue

Okay, I finally got myself to write the next part to the series. This is going to be pretty short, seeing that it's sort of a filler chapter. The next part will be better, I promise. Longer, too.  
  
Disclaimer (a.k.a. Stupid Legal Jargon): Starfox, Starwolf, Andross, and all related characters, places, and things are to Nintendo. Jesika Starwatcher is my character. Don't use her without my permission, yada yada yada. You get the picture.  
  
Okay, now that that's over, let's get this show on the road, shall we?  
  
  
  
The Good and The Bad: Epilogue  
  
  
  
"One man alone can't fight against the future."  
--Cigarette Smoking Man, The X-Files  
  
  
  
General Pepper looked out of his window dejectedly. He had just gotten a message from one of his most trusted lieutenants. Fortuna had fallen to Venom. There had been a vast number of casualties on both sides, many of which were civilians. Now they were headed to Katina. That would be an even worse situation. The population was much greater there.  
  
'It can't go on much longer like this. One side is going to break soon,' he thought. 'And it looks like it's going to be us.'  
  
He looked out the window one more time and then picked up a phone. After dialing a number, a familiar face popped up on the screen.  
  
"Ah, McCloud. It's good to be able to talk to you," Pepper said with a fake sounding jovial tone. The young vulpine saluted his superior.  
  
"Same here, sir," Fox said. He frowned at the dog's obvious worry. "What's wrong, sir?"   
  
"I need your help, Fox. Venom is getting footholds on almost all of the Cornerian allies. It won't be long until they make it here. We have to do something."   
  
"I'll gather up some team members. I already have a few people in mind," Fox sighed quietly. Pepper nodded appreciatively and closed the connection.  
  
Fox sighed deeply. Peppy had talked to him about reviving the Starfox team, and he had agreed to it. This was too soon, though. Sure, he had always wanted to be on the Starfox team, but this wasn't what he had in mind. He wanted to fly with his father.  
  
Of course, now such a thing was impossible.   
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Inside the maintenance center of the Cornerian military, two toads were hard at work.  
  
"You're doing a fine job, Slippy," the older one said. Slippy looked up and smiled.  
  
"Thanks Dad," he answered in a high, squeaky voice. Slippy frowned and looked back at the vehicle he was working on. It was a sort of large tank. "Do you think we'll ever get it to work?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure we will," his dad said. "You're an excellent mechanic, Son. I wasn't half as good when I was your age." He smiled proudly at his son. "C'mon, Slippy. It's getting late. Let's go home."  
Slippy shook his head. "No. I want to stay a little later, Dad. I'll catch up with you," he answered. His father nodded his head.  
  
"Don't be out too late, okay?" He said.  
  
"Okay," the boy said.   
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
"Get out of my way, punk," a rough, burly cheetah said to the young avian he had just run into on the sidewalk. The avian sneered at him while standing up, showing that he was at least a head taller than he was. The cheetah backed up.  
  
"What were you saying, Jerod?" the avian asked.   
  
"Nothing'" Jerod said quickly. "It was nothin', Falco." Falco smiled back at him.   
  
"Hey, don't worry about it," he said. "You're a hot-rodder. I wasn't going to attack one of my own teammates. At least as long as you look where you're going next time…"  
  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
  
The next day, Peppy Hare was sitting watching the vid-screen gloomily. There was a news report on about the attack on Fortuna that had happened earlier that day. It gave him a case of déjà vu. It was just like the mission he was sent on with James and Pigma. The search-and-rescue mission that happened so long ago…  
  
I wish this war would just be over, he thought. How long can it go on like this?   
  
"Hey Dad," a voice behind him said. He turned around to see his "daughter", Jesika, standing there, holding a soda in her hand. She looked like someone who just awoke after a late night party since her white-and-black streaked hair and hair was unkempt and her black-tipped bangs were hanging sloppily in her face, which was usually the case. He smiled slightly at her. She was a somewhat humorous sight. It was hard to believe that she was going to be fifteen in a week.   
  
  
"What happened?" she asked, a bit of concern in her voice as she looked at the screen.   
  
"Venom took over a base on Fortuna," Peppy answered quietly. Jesika frowned and sat down beside him.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Peppy put a hand on her reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he said, "we'll beat them. Don't worry." She looked over at him and smiled half-heartedly.  
  
"I hope you're right," she mumbled. "Can I talk to you about something, Dad?"  
  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
  
Fox stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked down the street. It was getting to be winter on Corneria and it was getting colder everyday. He knew he needed to get to his destination, though, before his objective left.  
  
Finally, he saw the building he was looking for: an old engineering building for the Cornerian Army. He walked inside and sure enough, Slippy was still there, fast asleep on the tank he had been working on.  
  
Fox smiled, walked up to him, and tapped him on his shoulder. The toad jumped and spun around, then broke out into a grin.  
  
"Fox! I haven't seen you since graduation. How have you been?" Slippy exclaimed. The vulpine laughed.  
  
"Fine, I guess. Beltino said I would find you here. He says you've been working all night." Slippy blinked for a second in surprise.  
  
"All night?"  
  
"Yeah, it's 10 a.m."  
  
"Oops," the toad mumbled softly.   
  
"Awww… don't worry. Your dad didn't seem mad about it. In fact, he sounded sort of proud."  
  
"Okay," Slippy said. "What are you doing here, anyway?"   
  
"Well," Fox said, "You've heard about the attack on Fortuna, I'm sure." He said. Slippy nodded. "Pepper called me up about what I could do about it. I had told him about how I was thinking about starting up my father's old team." Fox gulped sadly for a second and then continued.  
  
"I was wondering if you would like to be on it," he said finally. Slippy looked at him, stunned.  
  
"Y-you really think I'm that good? To fly on the Starfox team…"  
  
"With a little bit of practice, yes. Plus, we really need a good mechanic." Fox looked back at the tank that he had found Slippy working-or rather, sleeping-on. "What's that?" he asked.  
  
"It's called the Landmaster. I doubt I'll ever finish it," Slippy answered dejectedly.   
  
"You never know," Fox replied.   
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Falco looked around the bar quietly as the bartender gave him another beer. It was a rather low-class joint, with a couple of pool tables in a run-down building. Still, it was better than where he usually hung out.  
  
"Hey, Lombardi!" He felt a hard clap on the back. It was Nick, a tiger from an allied gang. His breath smelled of alcohol and his ears were droopy. Falco chuckled at the stupid grin on his friend's face.  
  
"Wuz'up, my man?" Falco laughed. Nick pointed over his shoulder stupidly. Following the gesture, Falco groaned as he saw what he was pointing at. It was Katt Monroe. She was looking over at Falco dreamily.  
  
"Dang it," the young avian growled and jumped out of his chair, heading towards the door. Katt quickly blocked his way and smiled.  
  
"Why hello there, Sugah," she said. He growled and pushed her out of the way.  
  
"Why don't you leave me alone?"  
  
"You know, Falco, that isn't the way you're supposed to treat the ladies," she said as she followed him out the door. Falco decided to change the subject.  
  
"What are you doing in a bar, anyway? You're underage," he mumbles.  
  
"So are you!"  
  
"Yeah, whatever," he growled. They continued walking in silence for a short while with Falco trying to walk fast enough so that Katt couldn't keep up. That is, until a lizard and a wolf blocked their way.  
  
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Lombardi," the wolf said.  
  
"You're out of your territory, kid," the lizard growled.   
  
Falco looked at them both uneasily. They were members of the rival gang, 'Blood Stars'. he actually knew the lizard's name. It was Leon something-or other. They had gotten into a fight a long ime ago, and Falco had given Leon a deep scar in the chest with a broken bottle. "I was just passing through, really. I'll be on my way now," he said quickly. The two gang members, however, were looking behind him at... Katt! He had forgotten about her.   
  
"Who's your girlfriend?" the wolf asked, licking his lips. He started towards her.  
  
"Katt, get out of here!" Falco hissed angrily. She started to back away from the wolf when he grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her towards him.   
  
"You ain't goin' nowhere, sweety," the wolf whispered.  
  
"Oh yes, I am," she replied curtly. With that, she kneed him in the groin. Hard. The unfortunate wolf howled in pain and dropped to his knees.   
  
Leon dove at the Falco. The avian caught him in the air with a roundhouse kick, knocking him to the ground. Falco started to attack him again.   
  
"Falco!" Katt screamed from behind him. He spun around.  
  
The wolf had recovered from her attack and grabbed her again. He had a gun pointed at her face. She was still struggling and kicking at him.  
  
"Checkmate, Lombardi," Leon laughed. He grabbed Falco's collar and slammed him against the wall. Falco cursed quietly and stopped struggling.   
  
'Dang it, Katt. Why did you have to follow me?' he though silently. The avian didn't have time to dwell on it, however, as Leon drew out a switchblade and pressed it to his throat.  
  
"Say goodnight, Lombardi," he hissed. Falco closed his eyes and waited.  
  
"You could put an eye out with that, you know," a voice growled from behind Leon. The lizard spun around, dropping Falco. He wasn't fast enough, however. The stranger kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.  
  
  
The wolf was so surprised by the attack that he threw Katt to the ground and ran towards the opponent. The wolf tried to attack him and caught a kick in his stomach. He was sent sprawling across the ground and dropped his gun. Falco, who had just recovered, grabbed the weapon and pointed it at Leon.  
  
"Damn," Leon cursed and struggled to his feet. He looked over for some support from his partner. The wolf was running away at top speed. "You coward!" Leon roared. He started after him, shouting back threats back at Falco the whole way.  
  
Falco started to follow them, but decided against it. He turned around to face his savior and found it was a male red fox. He couldn't see his face since his back was turned to him.  
  
"Thanks, hon," Katt thanked the fox as he helped her to her feet. He nodded curtly and then turned around to face Falco.   
  
A wide smile spread across the young avian's face as he took in the countenance of an old friend.   
  
"Fox! Is that you, man?" Falco laughed. Fox smiled slightly and nodded his head.  
  
"You never could keep yourself out of trouble, Falco," he said jokingly and gave his old friend a back-slapping hug.   
  
"What brings you here, McCloud?"  
  
Fox turned to Katt. "If you're alright, Katt, I'd like to talk to Falco in private."  
  
She smiled sweetly at him. "Why, of course I'm alright. Thanks to you." To show her appreciation, she ran her tail right under his nose. He pushed it away seriously. Katt sighed.  
  
"Your loss," she whispered as she walked away. Fox rolled his eyes and looked back over at Falco.  
  
"As I said," Falco persisted, "what brings you to these parts?"  
  
"Well, General Pepper called me yesterday and..."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Falco and Slippy looked around the Great Fox with wide eyes.   
  
"Welcome to your new home, guys," Fox said to the wide-eyed pair. "How do you like it?"  
  
"It's...umm..." Slippy started.  
  
"Really nice," Falco finished for him. Fox smiled.  
  
"Well, make yourself at home, fellas," he said. "We got some preparing to do tommorow."  
  
Fox looked over to see Peppy standing in the doorway. He walked over to his old friend.  
  
"So this is our new team, huh?" Peppy muttered.   
  
"Yeah..." he nodded.  
  
"You're dad would've been proud of you," the old hare said softly. Fox just nodded.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Jesika scurried up the climbing wall in the Great Fox gymnasium. Fox had been out all day to get Falco and Slippy for the new team, and Peppy had been talking and planning for different battles with Pepper, so she had no one to spar or practice on the flight simulators with.  
  
'Everyone's preparing for the war except me,' she thought bitterly. 'What can I do?'  
  
She knew that Fox wouldn't let her be on the Starfox team and she found it hard to blame him. The only one of the pilots she could outfly was Slippy, and even that was difficult.   
  
"Yo, Jes!" a voice split through the silence. She looked down towards the ground and saw Fox looking up at her. She smiled down at him and waved. "Get down here," he said.  
  
"No. You come up here," she retorted. He raised an eyebrow and sighed.  
  
"Do you wanna spar or not?" he answered. Jesika smiled slightly and started to climb down until she was six feet up. Then she just jumped.  
  
Fox started to yell at her for jumping, but decided there was no use. They walked over to the mat and took off their shoes and got started to fight.  
  
At first glance, it seemed like a poor matchup. Jesika was smaller and not as strong as Fox was, which gave him the distinct avantage of having a longer reach. Jesika, however, was faster and more agile than Fox was, making her much harder to hit.   
  
They fought for over a half hour, rarely saying a word to one another. There were very few easy wins in any of the rounds, and they soon tired themselves out and sat down to take a break.   
  
"You've gotten better," Fox said between gulps of air. Jesika nodded breathlessly.  
  
"You too," she whispered. They sat in silence before Jesika spoke up again. "How's the team going?"  
  
He looked over at her. She was looking at him with a questioning, almost skeptical, look.   
  
"Good. Falco and Slippy are getting settled into their new quarters." He raised an eyebrow. "Are you mad at me for not asking you to be on the team?"  
  
"Well..." she said quietly.   
  
"You're only fourteen years old, Jesika," he continued. "It's not safe for you to be on a mercenary team."  
  
"I'll be fifteen pretty soon, Fox," she retorted. "Besides, I was the Salutatorian of our class. I think I can handle it." Jesika bit frowned, her voice gaining volume. "I'm sick of being the only one doing nothing while this stupid war's going on."  
  
"But the reason you scored so high wasn't because of your piloting skills. You scored higher on other stuff. Why don't you work on those skills? Who knows, maybe you'll be a master spy or somethin'."  
  
"That's kinda what I needed to talk to you about," she said, pausing. "I was thinking about working on my own and getting my own place."  
  
Fox frowned slightly. "Have you talked to your dad about this?"  
  
"Yeah. He wasn't too crazy about the idea, but he halfway gave me permission if I promised to stay out of trouble."  
  
"Where are you going to live? What are you going to do?"  
  
"I'm going to be a spy, like you said. I think I'm gonna live on Fortuna. Where my parents..." her voice trailed off. Fox smiled half-heartedly.  
  
"Awww... little Jessy is growing up," he joked. "As long as you visit sometime, I don't have a problem, I guess."  
  
Jesika grinned. "Thanks Junior!" she said as she walked out of the room.   
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Nearly a week later...  
  
  
  
Fox walked into the Great Fox laboratory to find Slippy Toad hard at work on the Landmaster. The huge tank-like machine was slowly beginning to take shape and was near the stage of completion. The toad looked up at his superior.  
  
"Hiya Fox," Slippy greeted. Fox smiled.  
  
"You're doing pretty good on that thing, Slip. It looks like it's almost ready to go."  
  
Slippy shrugged. "I don't know about that. It's engine needs a few more parts and it needs some paint, but I think I may have it done by the end of the next couple of weeks, at least."  
  
Fox nodded approvingly and then his expression turned serious. "Slippy," he said, "I was wondering if you could do a favor for me. I need you to build me..."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
"This is too easy."  
  
"She doesn't even suspect anything."  
  
Two figures were whispering to each other outside the living quarters of the Great Fox. They were in black, hooded shirts, making it very hard to discern their identity in the dark.   
  
Silently, they approached a door at the far end of the hall. The shorter of the pair opened it and stepped in. They both smiled as they saw their objective sound asleep in a bed, having worked out all day in the ground mission simulators. The taller intruder pulled a black piece of cloth out of his pocket and approached the girl.  
  
His victim was pulled out of her sleep by someone grabbing her roughly by her shoulders and pulling her out of her bed. She began to kick at her attacker when the second stranger, whom she couldn't see because the first one had tied the cloth around her eyes, grabbed her feet and they both lifted her off the ground.   
  
"Let me go!" she yelled, hoping someone would hear her. No response.  
  
'Ugh, there's a ship full of boys and not one've them'll help,' she thought angrily and started trying to kick the one that was holding her feet as they dragged her down the hall.  
  
After several minutes of this, her captors stopped and the one holding her feet let go. Immediately she tried to stomp on the other one's foot when he jerked her blindfold off.  
  
"Surprise!" she heard a chorus of voices. The girl looked around to see Peppy and Slippy standing in front of her next to a large object covered in a white sheet. She then looked over at her attackers. Fox and Falco.  
  
"Wha..." Jesika blinked.   
  
"It's your fifteenth birthday, silly," Peppy said. "We wanted to surprise you."  
  
"Well, you did," she said curtly and walked over to Fox. "You scared the hell outta me, Junior. I thought some Venom soldiers got on board," she hissed.   
  
"You can pay me back later," he whispered curtly. "You have presents." Fox motioned toward a table. It was covered with small packages wrapped with bright paper. She walked over to it and started opening the presents.  
  
There was a wrist communicator from Fox that she was told to use if she needed any help. There were some CDs from Falco and a CD player from Slippy, which most likely had been planned. Peppy gave her a journal with some fine pens.  
  
"Awww... thanks you guys. You didn't have to go to all this trouble," she smiled.  
  
"Hey, there's one more thing we got," Fox said and led her over to the covered object. She looked at it cautiously.  
  
"Well, pull the cover off," the vulpine urged. Jesika pulled it off slowly.   
  
It looked like an arwing but much smaller. There was a red stripe painted on the tips of each of its wings. She gave them a questioning look, but an obviously happy one that seemed to ask 'Is that really my ship?'.  
  
"Fox and I designed it and Slippy built it. We figured that if you were serious about working by yourself, it would help to be able to get around."   
  
Jesika grinned and nearly ran up to Slippy and hugged him, but he backed away shyly. She shrugged. "Thanks," she said to all three of them. "It must've taken a lot of work."  
  
Slippy shrugged it off. "I had some help," he said, motioning to Falco. Jesika started to say something, but Falco waved it off.  
  
"Don't mention it, Starwatcher." Apparently, he was a bit tired.  
  
"Go on and get some more rest," Slippy said. "I'll explain the different controls in the morning."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Later that day...  
  
  
  
Peppy and Fox were in the War Room, planning their next mission against Venom. A door opened to reveal Jesika with a bandanna tied around her forehead and a backpack thrown over her shoulder.  
  
"I guess I better be going, huh?" she whispered. Fox and Peppy followed her silently to the docking bay. When they got to her ship she turned around to face them. She threw her bag into the ship and walked over to Fox first.  
  
"I guess I'll see you later, Junior," she said, tears brimming her eyes.   
  
"Oh no, Jesika. Don't you dare cry," he warned, messing up her hair like he did when they were kids. "You just take care of yourself, okay?"  
  
She nodded and turned to Peppy. She started to run over and jump in his arms when he reached into his pocket and pulled out an orange pendant attached to a thin thread. Tears were threatening to overflow his eyes also.  
  
"I forgot to give this to you last night," he said shakily. "It's the Titanian symbol for peace and protection. I thought it may help." With that, he put it around her neck and gave her a long goodbye hug. "You take care of yourself. And don't be a stranger."  
  
The young vixen nodded, trying not to cry. She turned around and got into her ship, determined not to look back. She waited for them to move out of the way, then took off to Fortuna.  
  
She finally broke down and looked back at the Great Fox. She wasn't all that sad, however. Somehow she knew that this decision may have been the right one. There was only one way to find out, though.   
  
To go for it...   
  
  
  
Fin  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Author's notes: Wow, that took awhile, huh? I'm sorry. It shouldn't have taken that long, I know. I'm making up for it, though. Because maybe, just maybe, you'll get to find out just what's up with Jesika's little birthmark next time. No promises though.  
  
Anywho, if you have any praise, fan mail, flames, questions, comments, or death threats, email me at jesika_starwatcher@rockforlife.zzn.com . Thank you and stay tuned.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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